In various applications and industries it is often desired to install long lengths of cable, wire, or other similar elongate, flexible materials. For example, in the utility service industries it is often desired to install lengths of wire or cable for transmitting power, television or telephone signals. The wire or cable is typically supplied in long lengths coiled upon a spool or reel. After the wire has been installed, unused lengths of the wire must be collected for reuse or disposal. In some situations where new wire is being installed to replace older wire, the unused portions of the new wire, as well as the old wire, must be collected.
In such applications, it is generally desired to wind the unused or old wire back onto a reel or spool for subsequent reuse or disposal. Conventional equipment for winding wire is generally very complex and bulky, and therefore not suitable for use in the field where new wire is being installed. Collapsible-style take up reels are also generally awkward to use and are not suited for placing wire onto a removable reel. A need therefore exists for an apparatus and methods for winding unused wire onto a reel that overcomes these and other drawbacks of the prior art.